Typographical distributing machine



Dec. 1, 1925. 1,563,796

J. R. ROGERS TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1924 4 Sh eetsSheet l j i l 1 I I l l I "F E N 1?? I! M j VENTOR 1,563,796 Dec. 1 1925 J. R RQGERS TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a I VENTYOR ATT NEYJ' Dec/1,1925. 1,563,796

- J. R. ROGERS TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING IACHII! Filed Feb. 5, 1924 4 sheets sheet 5 IN ENTOR E i: E E1 X fifii ms .1. R. ROGERS TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Dec. 1, 1925- 1,563,796

Filed Feb. 5, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NVENTOR 4? BY 7 AWE; NEYS Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

issues UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN R. ROGERS, OF BROOKLYN, MEX/V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MERGENTHAIQER LING- TYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE.

Application filed February 5, 1924. Serial No. 690,683.

general organization represented in U. S.'

Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 4t36,532, wherein circulating matrices are released from a magazine in the order in which they are to appear in print and then assembled in line, the composed line transferred to the face ofa mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a slug or linotype against the matrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the matrices.

thereafter returned through a distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started. In some machines, such as the commercial model 9, where matrices may be drawn from several magazines and mixed together in the same line, the distributing mechanism includes a primary distributor, which first sorts the matrices according to font, and a plurality of main distributor's which sort the matrices of the individual fonts according to character and restore them to their proper channels in the magazines. Vith this type of distributing mechanism, the matrices, after font separation, pass down chutes or tubes and enter socalled lower distributor boxes, from which they are fed one at a time to the main'distributors under the control of reciprocating pawls or escapements. In order that these pawls or escapements may cooperate properly with the lllftllliCQS, the latter are provided in their bottom edges with central notches, which necessarily vary in shape and depth according to the thickness of the individual matrices.

Besides adding to the cost of production, such notches in the matrices materially limit the space ordinarily required for the regular font notches and moveover seriously weaken the matrices, especially when the latter are formedwith other necessary cuts or notches. Furthermore, matrices comprising fonts used on other machines, such as those of the single distributor class, are excluded from use on machines of the multiple distributor class described, since they do not have the required central notches.

The present invention'is intended to obviate the foregoing difiiculties and contemplates certain improvements whereby the distributing mechanism may receive and handle matrices of all fonts and this with out the necessity for the objectionable central notches referred to. Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, each lower distributor box, instead of being provided with a pair of reciprocating pawls or e'scapements, as customary, is equipped with a matrix lifting finger and an associated matrix pusher member, the former acting to feed the matrices one at a time to the overlyin main distributor, and the latter acting to advance the matrices in proper order into the range of action of the lifting finger.

Similar arrangements have heretofore been proposed (see the Girod Patent No. 625,972 and the Grohmann Patent No. 759,969), but none has proved to be practical or satisfactor In these prior instances, the pusher members were constructed to engage the bodies of the matrices, which vary widely in thickness, and hence the pusher members required too great a throw for practical purposes. Moreover, these pusher members could not be relied upon to control the passage of the matrices through the distributor box or to advance them in proper upright position into operative relation to the lifting finger and the other parts. Thus, when the pusher members were made to engage the matrices at their lower ends only, the matrices would almost inevitably assume an in clined position in their advance toward the lifting finger and thus become wedged in the box, with the evil results which necessarily follow. Or, when the pusher members were made to engage the matrices more symmetrically, they would then in their forward position arrest the matrices passing into the box at such a high level as to create a jam or else not afford time enough for the matrices to drop in front of the pusher members when in their retracted position.

According to the present invention, the pusher members are so constructed that the matrices will unfailingly be presented in til) proper upright position to thelifting finger and at the same time allowdto 'p'ass through the distributor box' with the ne'ces'sa'r'y speed and facility. In addition, the construction at the pusher niembersis such that their throw or stroke may be reduced to a minimum and brought well within practical limits. Generally speaking, the pushermembers are constructed and arranged to cooperate only with the proje cting ears of the matrices, which feature, as will later be -seen, brings about the improved results above noted. I w w 7 In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown inerely in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to the specific type of distributing mechanism indicated. p p and variations may be made therein and in its mode of application, which will still be comprised within its spirit. It isto be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

leferring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, showing part of a multiple distributor with the" present improvements applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the improved distributor box;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken through the distributor box;

Fig. 5 is an end view thereof, partly in section;

Figs. 6 and Tare-detail sections, showing the operation of the pusher member;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective of a portion of the distributor box with its matrix guide block detached;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the matrix pusher member detached;

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective showing the manner of supporti-ng a thick matrix immediately prior to its engagement with the distributor bar; and

lii 11 is a detail transverse section, showing the means for operating the pusher n'iember and lifting finger.

.lelerring to 1, the matrices X are dropped by the primary distributor A'into tubes or chutes A and enter'oneor another of the lower distributor boxes B, through which they are guided inupright position by their projecting ears or upon the upper and lower inclined rails B The railsof each box are extended beneath the receiving end of the corresponding main distributor, "the latter comprising as usual the longitudinally ribbed bar 0 and the set of matrix conveying screws C The foregoing parts and their mode of operation, except as hereinafter pointed out, are or However, many changes .pusher blocks D may bc of any approved construction or fas embodied "in the commercial model 9 linetype.

'ri c es by their projecting ears a? and acting to deliver them forwardly in a vertical position, w1thout danger of tilting or displacement, to a point where they are engaged by the fingerE- and lifted thereby into-the The e threads of the distributor screws C pusher inen'iber D (Figs. 2, 4t and 11) is slid'ably mounted in the base plate B of the distributor box B and-is loosely connected near its outer 'end' 'to' the" lower end of a bell crank lever F pivoted at F to the distributor box. The lever F is moved in one direction (inwardly) by a spring F and rod E the rocking lever E2, and thercturn spring The finger E and pusher D are i thus operated in perfect synchronism in feeding the matrices to the distributor.

Angular bracket plates D (F 9), fastened near the inner end of the member D and rising from opposite sides thereof, extendforwardly and carry a pair of blocks D 'arranged to engage the upper ears of thematrices. Corresponding blocks D arranged to engage the lower ears of the matrices, are "formed by recessing or bifurcating the end of theineniber D. As thus. constructed, the pusher member is adapted to lengage'the matrices by all four earsand hence is capable of advancing them in perfect upright position.

The rails B (see particularly Fi 8) are formed withinatrix arresting shoulders B which rise from horizontally disposed portions B The rails are further formed with upwardly inclined and horizontalportions B and B, which serve to support the matrices after they have been lifted above the shoulders B and until they engage the distributor bar C.

A separator blade Gr, which is custon'iarily used in connection with a liftingfinger, is also, provided. In the present instance, however, besides performing its normal function of keeping succeeding matrices in place while the leading one is beinglifted, it preventsthe forward tilting or displacement of a matrix while supported by the I as the latter move toward the shoulders B The upper rails B are made wide enough in rear of the lifting fiusuch extent that the matrices will be checked thereby except when the-pusher member occupies its retractedv position. In this position of the pusher member, the course of a matrix is unobstructed and .it is free to pass by the pusher blocks and drop onto the horizontally disposed portions 13 of the rails (see Fig. 7). At other times, however, the matrices will be arrested by the engagement of their projecting ears with the horizontal edges of the pusher blocks, as indicated in the case of the matrix shown at the right in Fig. 6, the stroke of the blocks being such that the number of matrices released thereby is perfectly controlled. hen the matrices are released and drop onto the horizontally disposed portions B of the rails, they are imn'iediately subjected to the action of the pusher blocks and are advanced thereby, without danger of tilting or displacement, solidly and squarely up against the arresting shoulders B (see dotted lines, Fig. 7). At this point, they are lifted by the finger E clear of said shoulders and into the threads of the conveying screws G as indicated by the matrix at the left in Fig. 6. The screws then advance the matrices along the inclined and horizontal portions 13* and B of the rail extensions into engagement with the distributor bar C.

As well understood in the art, the projecting ears m of the matrices are of substantially uniform thickness throughout the matrices of all fonts, and hence the throw or stroke of the pusher member may be reduced to a minimum. Moreover, since the matrix ears are located at the four corners of the matrices and'in the same vertical plane, the advance of the matrices by the eugagement of the pusher member with such projecting cars will necessarily result in the presentation of the matrices in perfect upright position between the lifting finger E and the overlying separator blade G, it being understood that the matrix arresting shoulders B (like the matrix ears) are located in the same vertical plane. Furthermore, inasmuch as the pusher blocks D? and D are adapted to engage only with the projecting ears of the matrices, the latter are allowed to pass-downwardly through the distributor box until arrested by the engagement of their projecting ears with said pusher blocks (the matrix body portions be ing unobstructed), and hence when the pusher blocks are withdrawn, the matrices are obliged to fall a very short distance in dropping onto the horizontally disposed portions 13' of the distributor box rails, having ample time to make this drop before the pusher blocks are moved forwardly again to advance them into the range of action of the lifting finger.

The horizontal portions I) of the lower rail extensions are preferably arranged to extend beneath the body of a matrix rather than its lower projecting ears, as shown in Figs. 7 and 10. The point is that, in the case of very thick matrices, the tooth combinations and projecting ears (located at opposite sides thereof) are so widely separated that the tooth combinations would fail to engage the distributor bar before the projecting ears had passed beyond the rail extensions unless some such means of support were provided.

Having thus describedmy invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of amatrix distributor, a reciprocating tinger for dclivering the matrices successively to the dis tributor, and means to cooperate with the ears of the matrices for advancing the latter into the range of action of said reciprocating linger.

2. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a matrix distributor, a matrix lifting finger associated therewith, and a cooperating matrix pusher member having ear engaging portions, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a pri mary distributor, a plurality of main distributors, distributor boxes arranged to cooperate with the main distributors, matrix lifting lingers associated with said distributor boxes, and matrix pusher lilOll'ilDOlS also associated with the distributor boxes and having portions to engage the matrices by their projecting cars.

a. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which matrices gravitate for distribution, a matrix lifting linger associated therewith, and a cooperating pusher member having portions to engage the matrices by their projecting ears.

5. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box provided with internal rails having in} clined portions upon winch matrices are guided by their projecting ears as they pass therethrough, a matrix lifting finger associated therewith, and a matrix pusher member operating horizontally across said inclined rail portions and having portions to engage the matrices by their projecting ears.

6,. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projectingears, the combination of a distributor box through which the matrices gravitate for distribution, a matrix lifting finger associated therewith, a matrix separator blade located above and in operative relation to the lifting finger, and means to cooperate with the projecting ears of the matrices tor advancing them into the range of action of the lifting finger.

7 In a typographicaldistributingmachine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which the matrices gravitate for distribution, and provided with internal rails having inclined portions, horizontal portions and terminal matrix arresting shoulders to cooperate with the projecting ears of the matrices, a matrix lifting finger associated therewith, and a reciprocating pusher member acting to. advance the matrices supported by the horizontal rail portions up against the arresting shoulders and over the lifting finger, the said pusher member being formed with portions to engage the matrices by their projecting ears.

8. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which matrices gravitate for distribution, a matrix lifting finger associated therewith, and a reciprocating pusher member provided with Ebloclt portions to engage the matrices by their projecting ears, the said block portions serving in the forward position of the'pusher member to arrest or retard the matrices in their passage through the distributor box.

9. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with-projecting ears, the combination of distributor box through which matrices gravitate for distribution, a periodically operated matrix lifting finger associated therewith, and a reciprocating pusher member operated in synchronism with the lifting finger, and provided with block portions to engage the matrices by their projecting ears.

10. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices, each formed at its four corners with projecting ears, the combination of a matrix distributor, a periodically operated finger for feeding the matrices successively to the distributor, and a matrix pusher member operated in synchronism with the finger and provided with four engaging portions arranged in position to engage the matrices by all four projecting ears, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices, each torincd at its four corners with projecting ears, the combination of a matrix distributor, a periodically operated finger for feeding the matrices successively to the distributor, and associated means to cooperate with all four projecting ears of the matrices for advancing the latter into the range of action of the finger.

12. In a typographical distributing machine, the combination of a matrix distrib-y i utor comprising a distributor bar and a set of conveying screws, means for feeding matrices one at a time into the threads of the distributor screws, and means for guiding the matrices during their advance by the.

screws onto the distributor bar, the said guiding means including a supporting track arranged to maintain engagement with the body portion of the matrices until the latter become supported by the distributor bar.

13. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices "t'orined with pro ecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which the matrices gravitate tor distribution, a matrix lifting tinger associated therewith, and a reciprocating pusher member for advancing the matrices into the range of action of the lifting finger, the said pusher member being constructed to cooperate with the projecting:

ears of the matrices in controlling the passage of the latter through the distributor box 14:. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which the matrices gravitate for distribution, and means cooperating with the projecting ears ot the matrices for controlling the passage of the latter through the distributor box.

15. In a ty 'iographical distributing machine equipped with matrices iormed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which the ,n'iatriccs senting downwardly inclined portions and horizontally disposed portions and With horizontal slots separating the inclined from the horozontally disposed portions, and a reciprocating member controlling the passage of the matrices down the inclined rail portions and provided with block portions movable in said horizontal slots to cooperate with the projecting ears of the matrices in permitting the latter to drop onto the horizontally disposed rail portions.

17. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with matrices formed with projecting cars, the combination of a dis tributor box through which the matrices gravitate for distribution, a matrix lifting linger associated therewith, and a reciprocating pusher member constructed to engage the matrices at all four corners in advancing said matrices into the range of action of the lifting finger.

18. In a typographical distributing machine equipped With matrices formed with projecting ears, the combination of a distributor box through which the matrices gravitate for distribution, a matrix lifting finger asociated therewith, and means coopcrating With the projecting ears of the matrices and acting at one time to arrest the matrices in their passage through the distributor box and at another time to advance said matrices into the range of action of the lifting finger.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature hereto.

JOHN R. ROGERS. 

